The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and Hawaiʻi Community College (Hawaiʻi CC) have been awarded a Title III Cooperative Grant to promote the transfer of Native Hawaiian students between the two institutions. The five-year grant request was in excess of $3.1 million, with first-year funding of $540,733 beginning on October 1, 2010.

The Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant will focus on improving the transfer rate of Native Hawaiian students from Hawaiʻi CC to UH Hilo by supporting activities that will improve the persistence and graduation rates. In addition to strengthening Hawaiʻi CC’s student transfer success, the project also seeks to bridge the teaching and learning communities at each campus and develop inter-collegial degree pathways.

Both schools enroll large percentages of Native Hawaiian students. The 1,621 students or 42 percent at Hawaiʻi CC is the highest in the entire UH System, while 928 or 23 percent of UH Hilo’s student body is made up of Native Hawaiian students. The two also share a number of campus facilities and services, including offices and classrooms, library, health and food services, and student housing.

“UH Hilo is an ideal place for Native Hawaiian students attending Hawaiʻi CC to continue their education,” said Principal Investigator Gail Makuakane-Lundin, who also serves as executive coordinator of Student Development Programs and director of Kipuka, Native Hawaiian Student Center. “By strengthening and improving the transfer process, we believe many more of these students will choose to come here.”

The first-year award includes funding to hire staff at both institutions to carry out major grant activities.